Daily Digest – October 9: The Recovery was an Inside Job

Paul Krugman argues that Friday’s jobs report shows genuine improvement in the economy since last year, but instead of celebrating the news that more Americans are finding jobs, Republicans are distraught that it might help President Obama keep his.

Why a President Romney would have Obama to thank for an economic recovery (WaPo)

Greg Ip writes that like other presidents, Obama’s made choices that will pay off only after he’s left office, and his successors are likely to be grateful that he did little things like invest in scientific innovation and not volunteer to become China’s bitter enemy.

E.J. Dionne notes that Obama and Romney got lost in some wonky woods during last week’s debate and forgot to leave a trail back to the question of who they’re trying to help and why. But the Nuns on the Bus are ready for a search and rescue operation.

James Surowiecki writes that Congress’s stab at pre-commitment backfired with sequestration, which was supposed to force lawmakers to find common ground but is instead demonstrating that they can only manage to pass legislation that everyone hates.

Alex Pareene notes that Peterson-funded opinionmakers are back to calling for a safety net-shredding deficit deal no one else actually wants, and depending on whether the president joins in, it could be the greatest bipartisan achievement since the Iraq War.

Ezra Klein writes that Romney’s claim that he wants to let every state follow Massachusetts’s example and plot its own course on health care reform conflicts with his plans for Medicaid cuts, which would prevent Massachusetts from following its own example.

Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers note that over the last few decades, investors have consistently bet that Republican presidents would be better for the stock market and abandon their commitment to reducing the national debt, and they’ve been half right.

Matthew O’Brien points out that Romney has proposed a massive corporate tax cut in two parts. Part one is cut corporate taxes, declare a repatriation tax holiday, and blow a $1 trillion hole in the budget. Part two is cut taxes again, but pay for it by doing… stuff.

Bruce Bartlett notes that some conservative economists who blew the call on the crisis in 2008 are now predicting doom and gloom, but that may be because their economic models account for fundamentals like “how badly do I want Mitt Romney to win.”

Andy Kroll writes that President Obama’s huge September fundraising haul has brought him one step closer to becoming the first candidate to raise $1 billion, but his much-touted support from small voters has been supplemented by a lot of gigantic ones.